Matthew Perry documentary director addresses why all five Friends co-stars declined interviews
The new Matthew Perry documentary is now streaming on Netflix, but there's a handful of very familiar faces that don't feature in it.
Tomorrow (October 28) marks three years since Perry's sudden passing. The actor was found unresponsive in his hot tub at his Los Angeles home. His cause of death went on to be ruled as acute effects of ketamine, with drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine listed as contributing factors.
Five defendants were charged in connection to the actor's death, one of which, Jasveen Sangha, received a 15-year sentence earlier this year.
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Sangha, best known as the 'Ketamine Queen', was the one to have supplied the ketamine to Perry that caused his death.
As we approach the third anniversary of Perry's passing, a new Netflix documentary about him called The One About Matthew Perry has been released today (October 27).
See the trailer here:
Emmy winner Mary Robertson directed the documentary and said she wanted to make the film 'for those who love Matthew — which, by the way, is kind of everyone — to love him more', as per TUDUM.
The three-part series includes testimony from Perry's sister Mia Perry Bowick and his lifelong best friends. While it was known that he was extremely close with his Friends costars, they apparently declined to partake in the doc.
Explaining why, Robertson shared: "We know the cast of Friends loves Matthew and are grieving in their own ways.
"We did approach them, and they decided not to participate. I feel so privileged and honored, though, by the participation of a producer and writer [Jeff Strauss] who worked very closely on Friends, and the photographs that were shared with us... [which] allowed us to offer a perspective on that sitcom that I don’t think you’ve heard before and that is quite intimate."
She also spoke of Perry's 'lowercase friends' – i.e those close to him who weren't in the spotlight – whom he met in his teens and early 20s.
"Not only were they his real-life friends from his early 20s, but they were his real-life friends on the day that he died," Robertson said. "They were friends for decades and decades and decades."
While members of the Friends cast aren't in the documentary, they've spoken about the late actor on numerous occasions since his passing, which understandably left them all heartbroken.
Speaking last year, Jennifer Aniston said they 'did everything we could' to help Perry during his addiction battles.
"But it almost felt like we’d been mourning Matthew for a long time because his battle with that disease was a really hard one for him to fight," Aniston added.
"As hard as it was for all of us and for the fans, there’s a part of me that thinks this is better."
Aniston concluded the somber interview saying that she was glad her dear friend was 'out of pain'.
Perry discussed his addiction issues in his 2022 memoir 'Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing', which is available purchase from Amazon.
If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can call American Addiction Centers on (313) 209-9137 24/7, or contact them through their website.
Topics: Matthew Perry, Netflix, Friends, Documentaries, Film and TV, Celebrity
Niamh Shackleton